A firm believer in the participatory approach to service management systems, Ashok Bharti is creating an alternative distribution mechanism for basic civic services to reach the country's slum dwellers. Beginning with an electricity cooperative in Delhi's slums, Ashok is reinventing the relationship between poor consumers and service providers and paving the way for an inclusive ownership structure of all civic amenities.
The New Idea
Slums comprise 20-40 per cent of any large city in India but are unfortunately not part of the government's development paradigm. Though important contributors to any city's economy, slum dwellers are considered squatters and hence denied legitimate access to basic civic amenities like electricity or water.
In such a scenario, it is but natural that a thriving black market services these people, one in which prices are extortionist and non-negotiable, the service poor and erratic, the quality even worse and rampant corruption and illegal practices result in huge revenue losses for public utilities. The people themselves live under the constant threat of discontinuation of services.
Having grown up in a slum himself, Ashok Bharti is aware that though the poor are the biggest consumers of civic services, the government does not serve them. However, civic governance in India is undergoing a change and moving more towards ownership structures.
The recent privatization and unbundling of power utilities has provided Ashok with the perfect opportunity, considering neither the government nor the power companies have any permanent solutions to power distribution in the slums. The time seemed right to launch a third option that is sustainable as well as an acceptable alternative.
He is therefore setting up cooperatives for the distribution of electricity in slums in which a participatory model facilitates a profitable partnership between the private sector and the consumers. By doing this he is not only replacing a parallel system controlled by a power mafia with a quality service, he is turning poor people into legitimate consumers, connecting them with the democratic process, and protecting them from extortion as well as harassment from the authorities.
Moreover, even while regularizing prices, he is proving to the government and the private sector that it also makes for a good business model. The success of this mutually-beneficial model will help in establishing similar initiatives for other infrastructural and civic services and impact governance to become more responsive, accountable and participatory.
The Tata Power Company's distribution arm, New Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), which supplies power to one-third of Delhi city, is partnering with Ashok in setting up the first cooperative and has indicated its interest in a long-term partnership when the time for scaling up comes.
The Problem
It is the fundamental right of every citizen in India to be able to access all basic services in order to lead a dignified existence. However, a vast majority of the people remain outside delivery systems. The increased polarization between the haves and the have-nots has meant that even the most basic goods and services are available purely on the merit of one's purchasing power. What is ignored is that it is often impossible for an individual to build up one's purchasing power single handedly, a fact not taken into consideration when formulating policies in a 'welfare' state.
Delhi's large slums and its inhabitants are a case in point. While an integral part of the city's landscape and its economy, slum dwellers are forced to survive on poor quality civic services at high prices, supplied by a black economy. The government's stance is at best opportunistic, turning a blind eye to the regular thefts and pilferage of civic amenities, for fear of losing a sizeable vote bank.
In the absence of easy access to basic services like water and electricity, alternative methods are sought for a fee. For instance, the electricity used by slum dwellers reaches them through a parallel distribution system where it is 'stolen' from a legitimate source and then sold at high rates. The quality therefore is inferior, resulting in short circuits and voltage fluctuations which lead to spoilage of electrical products, hazards like fires, and deaths and maiming by electrocution. Some times entire residential areas are at risk from a single slum fire.
The illicit supply is often disconnected for days till the small-time local mafia who run the alternate system pay the necessary bribes. The fall-out of such illegal activities is not difficult to see. The mafia proliferates, encouraging more youth into the system, causing crime graphs to shoot up; normal activities like that of school-going children or small-scale enterprises are disrupted; and the frustration and discomfort at not receiving a necessary service that the more privileged take for granted, erupt in frequent violence, crime and communal friction.
For more than a decade, the government has attempted to privatize basic services with varying degrees of success. Electric supply - in part or in whole - has been privatized in most major cities; debates over privatization of water and transport services continue. In Delhi, the government manages power generation and bulk power transmission processes but distribution has been handed over to private companies.
However, while private distribution companies have brought in corporate management skills, they continue to use the same local infrastructure that was used by the government-owned distributor. Therefore distribution in local slum communities remain in the hands of 'contractors', in most cases petty politicians who charge the mafia a commission of 10-15 per cent for the parallel lines they operate. The inherent corruption prevents fair distribution and regularized pricing even though the government and now the private companies have, albeit on paper, subsidized pricing slabs for the poor.
In effect, for want of an alternative structure and to avoid political complications, the private distribution companies continue to support the black economy at the cost of commercial losses. The people remain where they are.
The Strategy
Ashok is providing the people and the distribution companies with an alternative delivery structure that is poised for a win-win situation for both, yet intertwined with the component of social responsibility. He has chosen the sprawling Haiderpur slum in Old Delhi to create a model electricity supply cooperative in direct partnership with distribution company NDPL. The cooperative will act as the regulatory body at the slum end, managing distribution and collection, liaising with the Regulatory Commission and NDPL as a representative of the people.
The implications of such a move whereby the middlemen are cut out are many. Primary among them is the notion that a direct supplier-to-consumer arrangement could mean a cost increase. This, coupled with the general lack of awareness and a sense of intimidation about how such a system can work, present the initial challenges. Ashok's efforts are therefore focused on two broad areas - social and technical.
Used to dealing with the local mafia, whose vested interests make any such move a challenge, especially among communities which lack a culture of cooperation, Ashok's approach is essentially people-centric. "Close interaction with the community through meetings, discussion and dialogues is the underlying norm," says Ashok.
He brings the community together to discuss the issue at hand, spread information about how such a cooperative is beneficial; demystify the technology that is required to set up the service channels; and identify leaders among the community who can be part of the core group in all negotiations, lobbying and advocacy with stakeholders, service providers and the government. Capacity building and training of stakeholders in building and running a cooperative is a crucial activity as is involving the people in carrying out a survey of their own needs.
He is initiating formation of self-help groups, especially among women, to further strengthen the cooperative spirit and encourage saving towards electricity charges so that they do not default on payments. The groups are also intended to streamline the process of collecting the cooperative's fees and charges towards the service. Women in the slums generally don't enjoy any decision-making roles. Yet, according to Ashok, because of their involvement with the family and its immediate needs, they play a greater role in the management of electricity. He has therefore insisted on the presence of two women members on the 15-member cooperative panel.
On the technical front, participatory appraisal to assess the electricity consumption needs of each household is being carried out along with a study of actual consumption of power, leakages, inefficiencies and assessment of electric load. The assessments also incorporate a safety audit of each household to eliminate accidents and encourage conservation at the household level. Creating an inventory of the distribution equipment required is also part of the exercise. Ashok is training and involving local electricians in the slums to contribute voluntarily towards helping out with losses, leakages, faults and breakdowns and in the actual operations of the cooperative.
This approach ensures the demystification of the service, educates the people on calculating their own consumption loads and identifying the snags, all of which helps them manage and distribute electricity better. More importantly, involving the community at every step allows for transparency and ownership of the idea by the people. Only those who become members of the cooperative will receive the service. Two hundred and fifty households out of 5,000 have already signed up.
The ownership structure has paid dividends on the service provider's front as well. The argument that supplying directly to the cooperative would benefit the company in the long run and help it achieve new targets is irrefutable. The consumers will pay the company directly and the revenues can only grow as more and more people join the cooperatives. The company also does not have to invest in a separate structure. More importantly, their books of accounts remain clean with no outflow to black marketeers.
NDPL has therefore agreed to supply the cooperative and through it a fixed number of units (estimated 500 volt ampere), enough to run a fridge, TV, tube light and a fan, to every household for a cost of Rs 175 a month. The government, on its part, is happy to have the burden of finding a solution to this problem off its shoulders.
While the costs are higher than what the people were paying the mafia, the accruing benefits have far outweighed the additional expense. Assured of quality and uninterrupted supply, the people are also relieved by the fact that given the legal nature of the cooperative, neither the government authorities nor the power company can now disconnect the power supply at will.
On the political front, the power mafia supported by local politicians present a big challenge. However, the combined pressure from the cooperative, the electric company and the government has left them with no option but to come to the negotiating table. Ashok has welcomed their involvement, given their prior knowledge of power distribution. In a strategic move, Ashok is influencing the political lobby on how such a people's initiative can prove to be an even stronger vote bank if supported by the same politicians themselves. Political support has thus ensured that the power mafia also falls in line.
Taking his entire concept of participatory governance quite a few steps further, Ashok is poised to launch a unique collective - that of slum partnerships or 'Sajedari' as he calls it. The Delhi government, in an innovative move, had launched the 'Bhagidari' system or citizen's participation in local governance a few years ago. This meant that the civic authorities worked in partnership with citizen's organizations in Delhi municipalities.
Slum dwellers, however, had no role to play in this arrangement. Ashok is building a parallel system among slum dwellers whereby all slums in Delhi federate and become valid participants in the Bhagidari system, which allow for better negotiating power. He aims to partner with the Slum Improvement Board in this initiative. As of now 32 slums have been identified for membership in the Sajedari, and apart from keeping the Sajedari informed about all matters regarding the power cooperative, training of Sajedari members in setting up their own is already in progress.
Ashok is optimistic that once the success of the power cooperatives are there for all to see, the government itself will move in to replicate the initiatives not only in power, but other areas of civic services as well. In fact, the populist nature of the measure will act as an incentive for the government to enforce it. Ashok is also bringing in sector experts for evaluation and impact assessment studies in order to fine tune his model before presenting it to the rest of the country. This will help in further lobbying with the government and other stakeholders on the efficacy of such structures.
The Person
The scar on Ashok's right hand, the legacy of a near-electrocution by a naked electric cable, is there for all to see. Born in Basti Rajaram, a slum for untouchables near Jama Masjid in old Delhi, Ashok was one among seven children. His grandfather cut grass for fodder. His father, a tailor and a class IV drop-out, was apprenticed to a Muslim master tailor. However, being an untouchable he could not enter the unit and had to sit outside the shop. It took him eight years to learn his trade. In later years, Ashok's father was responsible for introducing many Dalits to the profession of tailoring.
Growing up as a poor Dalit, Ashok has a clear understanding of the vulnerabilities of underprivileged communities. From the teacher in the local school commenting on his caste to watching their dream house in an upper-caste locality being burnt down by the local political leader, Ashok's experiences are many and traumatic. His parents, however, struggled hard to give all their children a good education. Ashok, on his own merit, managed to study in Hindu College, one of the best in Delhi and then go on to do his engineering at the prestigious Delhi College of Engineering. He later studied Manufacturing Management for his post-graduate degree in Australia, where he served as president of the international students' body and, later, as the central representative of the entire students' body.
Active in the student's movements of the Eighties, Ashok was deeply influenced by the teachings of Dalit leader Dr B.R. Ambedkar, also known as the Father of the Indian Constitution. At 18, he organized a students' strike to stop the handing over of a building promised to his alma mater to another school. The governor of Delhi was forced to intervene and the transfer was stopped. He also founded a student's organization called Mukti (Freedom) which brought about changes in the admission system followed by his university.
The late Eighties was also the time of the violent student agitations following the Mandal Commission report on the status of backward classes. Ashok was disappointed with many aspects of the movement, and it led him to set up the Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (CADAM) in 1995 that organized the first ever Dalit Women's Conference that same year. His work with CADAM also led to the formation of the National Conference of Dalit Organizations, a platform active in negotiating an inclusive identity for Dalits.
An officer belonging to the Indian Engineering Services, Ashok has held senior positions with the Gas Authority of India, the Central Electricity Authority and Power Grid Corporation of India, the national power grid, where he served as Manager (Transmission lines). His technical knowledge stems from his job experience. Ashok lives in Delhi with his wife, son and mother.
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